ottinger



L. QTTINGER.

FASTENING DEVICL APPLICATION FxLiD luLY 19, 192x issmd July 18, 1922. l 5,4 1 2.

SHEETS-SHEET L.

INVENTOR UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

mioN OTTINGER. or NEW Yonx, N. Y.

FASTENING DEVICE.

original No, 1,312,199, ma

Appllcation for reissue tiled July 19, 1921. Serial No. 485,991.

-lle it known that l, LEoN (l'rrlNonu, a citizen ol' the Vnited States. and resident of the 4borough ol'lllanhattan. in the city` county. and State oi' New York. have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Fastening Devices, of which the following is a specification.

The'present invention relates to fastening devices. and particularly locks or latches. lhile l have illustrated my invention with reference to an automobile door latch, in which the present invention meets the peculiar conditions ot' service found only in such locks, it will be understood that the inventionjs adapted to other uses. suchv for instance as refrigerator doors and -doors generally` and the new mechanical principle involved will tind use in any structure re airing a secure fastening, and partiellqlv that class of uses at present supplied bv the so-called'expansion bolts.

Vlith the old types of locks other than that disclosed in my United States Patents No. 1,203,394 of October 31st, 1916, and Nos. 1,192,448 and 1,192,449 of July 25th, 1916, many disadvantages'nwere present, and it A was )raetically impossible to produce a .per-

fect litting door, \'vhieh-would not rattle and l length of time.

which would maintain its tit for any great ln doors of buildings. this question ot' tight fitting of the doors to pl'event rattling has been entirely overlooked,

Vprincipally as -the degree of annoyance was not as great as in doors of automobiles'or refrigerator doors, where it is'essential that a very tight lit be provided. Refrigerator doors havebeen for the most part locked by -a cam lever` which is hard to operate and becomes worn very rapidly, and no pro- ,vision is made for changesin the door produeedby atmospheric conditions.

In automobile doors, rubber stops` are placed upon the door stop to take up 'any' oseness. 'These exert a pressure upon the door when closed veryv much greater. than the pressure`ofthe lock spring, that 1s for example, 250 pounds as against 15,po unds.,

The theory of this method. is to depend upon the force withwhich the door is slammed to obtain the pressure. This action springs,

twists or Warps the door into place, and it displaces the rubber lbetween it and the j amb and causes an elastic lebound iressure which is then maintained by the latcli bolt entering behind the striker plate at the moment of the slamming impact. This method can pre` also causes looseness .in the handle mecha! i nism. so l'that' the handles rattle and are not maintained'in their proper-.normal position. n I propose inA the p-resentinvention to ob- .viate these disadvantages, and to provide a lock which will take up any looseness between the 4door and door jamb, Whether the` looseness be slight or great, and will rigidly support the door against pressure ateither side. 'At thesame time, Vthe door may be closed without slamming, and opened with ease, it being unnecessary to overcome any rebound )ressure or friction produced by sliding oi the latch bolt. Wear upon thelock is reduced to a negligible quantity, and

this is automatically taken up without impairing its efficiency, and the use of rubberor other such substance subjectto change is,

eliminated, so that there is practicallyl no deterioration due to use. i

A further object' is to' provide means for 'preventing 4looseness'ol'f the.l handles, and maintaining them in their proper position fwhen the latch bolt is not'fully projected.

With these and other objects in view, embodiments of my invention are shown in the accompanying drawings, and these embodif ments wiA be hereinafter 'more fully described withreference thereto, and the invention will be finally pointed out in the claims.

(ill

In the imcornpanyingI drawings: y

Figure l is a plan View of a. latch einhody1 inmy invention;

igure 2 is s, longitudinal sectional view taken along the line 2-2 of Figure Figure 2* is a'sectional fragmentary view of a slightly modified form;

Figure 3 is a similar view' taken along the line 3 3 of Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a diagrammatic illustration-of a mechanical movement employed;-

Fi s. 5, 6, 7 and S are sectional views showing the latch in four posit-ions of movement with respect to the latch engaging por tion of the door jamb;

Figs. 9 and 1U are front end views of the latch showing the l-atching member in retracted and projected positions respectively;

Fig. 1l is u detail plun View with 'arts broken away showing the action o the handle retaining means;

Figure 1Q shows a modified form of handle retaining means; and

Figure 1?, is a sectional view showing a further modified forni. Y

Vln'irniiur reference characters indicate corresponding ports throughout the several figures of the drawings.

Referring to the drawings, und more par- `ticulixrly to Figs. l to 3 thereof, the siipporting plate 2t) is provided et its front end with a face portion 2l bent upwardly, and inclined outwardly therefrom. A rectanguler opening 22 is provided in the 'face 2l, :ind at th'einner side of the said face there is secured il latch bearing 23 of inverted U- shupe. hase portions 24 and 25 resting upon tlie'pliite 2l), the bearing being secured in place hy screws 2G, 27 and 28; A flange 29 extends into the opening Q2 engaging the up ier and side edges thereof.

he latch holt il() is provided at its forward cud with u nose 31. which engages the hearing 23 und is adapted to he projected und retracted .with respect thereto, and at its reinend a guide extension 32 is provided, adapted to he reciprocated in a guide passage 83 of the frame 34. The frame 34 is provided at its forward end with an upturned portion 35 engaging the face 21, and with the-exception of the 'portions 36 and l? which rest upon the plate 20 and are secured thereto hy screws 38, 39 and 40, is spaced from the said plate 20. The portion 35 is secured to the face 2l by screws Avll :ind 42. A longitudinal recess 43 is proi'iilcd in the under side ofthe latch bolt, und a spring 44 is disposed therein, engaging :it one ond the front wall. of the recess, und :it its other end secured to a stud 45,. mounted upon ii lug 46 struck up from the) philo 2f). 'lhc spring 44 constantly exerts a projci-ling;r lori-if upon the latch holt,

lieti-action of "the holt may he brought f ilioulr either hy thc li ver 4T rotiituhly mount Vi-d in openings 4H :ind lll ol'- tho pluto 2O and lrnnic 2H, eiiguging :i projection 5U oil the. 'hitch hol-i. und operzilil'c through u'hundle secured in the spmre opi-ning 5l` or hy ro tation ol' the upright sliul't 52 mounted in seinii'iri-uliii' sorliets oil und 54 provided re spectivcly on thc phitc 2H und thc portion il? of the fiiinic ill, engaging :i -projcition oi' the holt by nicunsol' a intel-al cuni portion 56. j

In the upper liet. side ol' the nose portion ,31 of tlie'luti'h holt. there is provided ii re 'cess 5T, open asiat 58 iit its forward end.. Within the recess there rotatably mounted upon u transverse pin 5i! ii rocher member (il). Beneath the pin 55) there is provided on the underside of the rocker ii holster' portion (il which slidehly engages-the bottom of. the recess. forming a support for the rocker, supplementing the pin iigiiinst let erul pressure. lfdesired, this- )ortion 61 may he entirely eliminated, and member such iis shown in Fig. 2* provided.

In the projected position of the latch. the pin is disposed forwiirdly of the face 2l of the supporting plate. while inthe retracted position it moves rearwardly' of the plete, and the upper flat surface olE the rocker becornes flush'witli the upper fiatsurfsce of the nose, u projecting portion et the for a rocker ward end of the rocker, engaging sind illing in the open portion 5S, so that the rounded under side of the nose presents a smooth and solid surface, The flat surface 63 of the latch bearing 23 swings the rocker into this position as the axis of the pin passes beneath the front edge thereof.

An upwardly inclined cam und abutment surface 64 extends rearwardly of the liet surface 63,A this surface being slightly wider thanrthe rocker as cleiirly indicated in Fig. 1. At the inner end of the rocker there is provided a raised cani portion 65. adapted to engagethe surf-ace 64' dni-ing the projection of the latch to project the forward enii of the 'rocker laterally of the latch. The con- 4 tact point ofthe portion 65 isyroiinded and is nearer to the axis of rotation of the rocker than the forward endtliereof, so that there is a proportionately greater movement of the said forward enti. contact with the surface (i4 the rocker is rigidly locked against returnmovement without initial retraction movement of the latch bolt. and repression of the latch bolt is prevented by a force 'exerted directly on the roc er, as for instance such a force as would res ilt from leuningl heavily upon the door to which the hitch is attached. l

ln Fig. 4 l have illustrated diagrammatically and somewhut enlarged the new prim ciplc involved. The inclined cam und chiitinent siir'fire A is in ii plaine passing throngh the axis of the pivot ll of? the Ill In any position of rocker C, which is carried by the member D, in the fully projected position of the member D, or it may be in a plane passlng in front of the axis of the )ivot B. 'lliiis a force exerted laterally o the member D upon the rocker" is applied against the surl'acc A along the liiic ji/ in a perpendicular direction tothe said surface. or in the case ol' the. plane passin in front of the yaxis as when'tlie member is not fully projected, the lines of force are in the direction of the arrows w', y. the line y forming an obtuse angle indicated at u with the surface A.

the latch plate in its The iocker is thereby absolutely locked against movement without initial retraction of the member I). 4ln the fully retracted position and vprior to engagement with the surface A the forward end of the rocker is depressed Hush with the snrt'ace of the inember l). This new mechanical movement will iiid application in ininierons other uses. such as expansion attachment means. capable oi' ready desire to limit myself to its particular use in latches as disclosed..

The operation of the hitch is illustrated in Figs. 5 to 8. Fig 5 illustratingr the retracted position of the bolt. This retraction is brought about through operation ofV the handle. and is assisted by engagement of the rounded surface of the belt with the striker plate (i6 of the door janih. lVhen the bolt is released by the strikerl plate 4it is projected inte the rabbet 67 behind the striker, moving for a considerable'distance without fi'ictioiial Contact. with the striker. (Fig. (i).

.1n the continued projection'ol' the latch plate under the action cam portion 65 of the inclined surface 64V, thus oscillating said rocker and projecting the other end thereoi' beyond the open .side ot' the recess 5T and into bearing contact with 'the striker G6. Pressure ot' this end of the `rocker against the face of the striker operates to expand transverse dimension during the latter portion ot' its projection and thereby. forces the free edge of the door at its outer. side' tightly against the sto) plate 68. vthereby taking up any play which would otherwise occur between the door and the stop plate. or the projecting end ot' the latch plate and the striker (Fig. 8). The door is thus held absolutely tight in its closed position and noisy rattling of the end of the latch plate against the striker is prevented.

In practice the bolt is never fully projected, and any wear upon the same is antomatically taken up. This wear is negligible of the spring 44.. the rocker rides over the however. as there. is

very little friction contact. and the striking force of the rocker against the striker is considerably less than the actual force of the spring."because of the lateral divergence of the saine. The door may be opened with great ease, it beinglr opening because oiI widely ditl'erent disei-igagenient. so that l do not.

only necessary to overcomethe pressure of the spring 44. the rocker being disengaged from the striker as soon as the retraction movement commences. Danger ot' thedoor pressures working against each other as in the old types of latches. is entirely eliminated.

ln order to prevent rattling ol' the liandlcs. and prevent any looseness ther-'ein when thebolt is not fully projected. l provide spring means cooperating -wit-li thc lever arn 4T to hohl the same yieldingly in enga rement with the inclined face 2l.

lnlfigs. 11 to 13. l have shown several forms. ot' springs which may he employed for this purpose. the lirst. a helical spring (il) disposed upon a shaft or guide rod TU, pivoted at one end Tl to the lever. and slidable at its other-. end through the bracket T2 foi-ined on the frame 34. In Fig. 12. l have shown a 'leaf spring T3 secured at one end to the bracket T4. and at its other turned up end engaging a Fig.4 lil illustrates 'a spiral forni of spring level". v

l have. illustrated preferred and'satist'actory embodiments oi' my invention` but it is obvious that changes may be made therein witliiinthe spirit and scope thereof, as de lined in the appended claims. i

i claim l. ln a latch.`a latchiiig member adapted to be projected and retracted. a strike. and means adapted-to'expaiid the latching memberin its transverse dimension during projection includinga part carried by the latching member and co-acting with the strike. and means cooperating"with said part to more the lsaine into operative engagement with the strike' and preventing return Inoveineiit of said part to its normal position and permitting ofsuch return movement only upon a'reti'action movement'initially applied to said latching member.

2. ln a latch. a bitching member adapted -to be projected and retracted longitudinally of its axis. means for expanding thelatcliing member transverseliv of `its axis during projection ot`- said member and means coacting with a part of said )in '76 of the lever.'

member under expan- .able partcarried thereon,

, guide passage, a latching member having a.

recessed nose adapted to be projected and retracted through said passage, a rocker member pivotally mounted in said recess, and independently and slidably supported in said recess beneath said pivot, said rocker member adapted to expand said latching v member in its transverse dimension by projection therefrom, and means adapted to engage said rocker during proectionof said latching Ymember. to project t e same rela- 14. In a l tch, a lat'ehing membe'xya movmeansv for projecting said latching member, means for retracting said latchmg member, a latch en' gaging member, means for forcing said part laterally, said latching member4 being limited in its projecting movement by said part contacting with said latch-engaging member under pressure of said pro'ecting means when latch'ed, said means for orcing said partl laterally adapted to prevent return movement of said part, said part;

vadapted to be returned only by retraction movement initially applied to said latching member.

15. In a latch", a latching member, a movable part carried thereby, means for projecting said latching member, means for retracting said latehing member, a latch engaging member, means for forcing said part laterally, said latching member being limited in its projecting movement by said lpartcon-` tact/ing said' latcb engaging mem )er normally preventing full projection of said latching member, said latching member adapted to retain said retracting'means in normal position in the fully projecting position of said latching member, a guide rod connected tofsald reti-acting means, a compression coi'l spring disposed thereon and ada pted to be compressed upon operation of said retraction ufcans and 'expanded upon release of said retraction. means, to retain said retraction member in normal position independent-ly of said latching member when said latchingmembcr is not lillly projected. l

16. ln a latch. a latching member, a movable part carried thereby, means for projccting said I atching member, means for retrartingsaid latching member. a latch engaging member, means for forcing said )art laterally, said lati-hing member being limited in its projecting movement by said. part contacting withsaid latch engaging membcr under prcssilrc of said projecting means when latched, .saidv means for forcing said part laterally adapted to provon'tretul'n o venting full movement of said part, said part adapted to be returned only byv retraction movement initially applied to said latching member, said latch engaging member normally prerojection of said latching member, said atching member adapted to retain said retracting means in normal position in the fully projected position of said latching member,'and yielding means for independently retaining said retracting means in normal position when said latching member is not fully projected.

1T. A mechanical movement comprising a support, a member adapted to be projected and retracted relatively to said support, means on said member adapted to expand said member in its transverse dimension by projection therefrom., means adapted to angage` said means carried by said member turing projection of said member to project the same relatively thereto, and adapted tol prevent return movement of said means carried by said member, said means carried by said member adapted to be returned only by retraction movement initially applied to said member. l

18. A mechanical movement comprising a support, a member adapted to be projected and retracted relatively to said support, a rocker on said member pivoted intermediate its ends and adapted to expand the trans verse dimension of said member by projection of its'outer end therefrom, an inclined cam and abutment surface adapted to engagepthe inner end ot said rocker during projection of said member to project the same rclativelythereto, said surface adapted to prevent return movement'ot' said rfa-ker, said rocker adapted to be returned only by retraction movement,initially applied to said member, the pivotal axis of said rocker in the fully projected position ot' said member being within an angle termed b v the plane of said inclined surface and a plane parallel to the direction of movement of said memberand passing through said pivotal axis.

19. ln a latch, a latching member adapted t0 be projected and retracted, latching member carried means adapted to expand the same in its transverse dimension, means adapted to be engaged by said latch ing mem ber-carried meaiis,'and adapted during cngagcment to expand the same, and constituting during engagement an abutment against complete return movement of said bitching member carried means, by a torce cxcrtcd directly thereon.

20. ln a door latch., a latch engaging meniber. latch means carried by the door` includwhen the door is closed to prevent the re- 

